Laundry extractor



April 3, 1945. WATSON LAUNDRY EXTRACTOR Filed July 6, '1942 3Sheets-Sheet 2 & 8 m m MM mwfim 8 9A m QM M w n a a 4- W 3 a m 7w a w w.1

April 3, 1945. T. s. WATSON LAUNDRY EXTRACTOR Filed July 6, 1942 5Sheets-Sheet 3 IZJVENTOR.

Qua/1 9 f uuk ATTUIPNEY-S.

Patented Apr. 3, 1945 LAUNDRY EXTRACTOR Thomas S. Watson, Milwaukee,Wis; assignor to Huebsch Manufacturing Company, Milwaukee,

Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application-.luly s, 1942, Serial No.449,869

4 Claims.

The invention relates to clothes driers and mo e particularly to a drierof the hydraulic pressure extractor type.

One of the main objects of the invention is to' provide an hydraulicallyoperated laundry extractor with improved means for locking the coverwhich may be readily applied and released by the operator. ent inventionthe cover is firmly locked to the body of the container by aplurality'of latches formed or mounted on a ring carried by the coverand mounted for oscillatory movement relative to said cover to a lockedor unlocked position.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple but eiiectivearrangement between the cover, locking means, and frame for disposing ofthe water extracted from the laundry by the apparatus.

A further object of the invention is to simplify and improve the clothesdrier shown and described in my copending application Serial No.369,553, dated December 11, 1940, now U. S. Letters Patent No.2,336,428, dated December '7,

1943, and in this connection to'reduce the number of parts forming acontrol for the hydraulic fluid supply valve of a plurality of extractorunits using a single cover for all said units.

The invention further consists in the several features hereinafter setforth and more particularly defined by claims at the conclusion hereof.

In the drawings: 1

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a clothes drier embodying theinvention, the section being taken on the line l--| of Fig. 3;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail sectional view of the cover, parts beingbroken away;

Fig. 3 is a .plan view of the drier apparatus, parts being broken awayand parts being shown in section;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 5 is a detailed sectional view taken on the broken line 5--5 ofFig. 3;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged bottom view of the "cover, parts being brokenaway;

. Fig. 7 is a detailed sectional view taken on the broken lines '|-.-'lof Fig. 5.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 9 designates, in each instance, ametal walled container having a grooved rim 9 at its top and an .opening10 in its bottom connected by a pipe II with a source of hydraulicfluid. The container is cylindrical with a conically curvedbottom forMore particularly, in the presstrength, and preferably the depth of thiscasing or container should not exceed its diameter.

A bag [2 of flexible material fits within the container, and its rim I3is adapted to fit in the "a 'groove of the rim 9 and a mating groove l4formed in a clamping ring l5 secured to the rim 9 by a plurality ofscrews l6.

A cover IT has a rim portion it that registers with the rim l5 abovedescribed and has a foraminous lining member l9 spaced from the mainbody parts of the cover by a series of spacers 20, this lining providinga series of holes 2! .through which the waste water from the laundry mayescape into the space 22 between said mem- -T her and the cover andincluding the space between said member and the rim I8. The rim I8 isadapted to be secured over the top of the container in a position toprevent escape of laundry therefrom during the extraction process bylock- 2 ing mechanism hereinafter described.

, The containers 8 are bound together by a frame plate 23 fastenedthereto and to which legs 24 are secured acting to support saidcontainers in an elevated position and adjacent each other, so

2 that the one cover structure above described may be used with one orthe other container. The plate 23 may have formed integral therewith orsuitably secured thereto a vertically extending portion 25 to form adrain basin 26 for both containers and provided with a drain opening 21to collect waste liquid draining off from the space 22 in the cover.

Each of the pipes ll connects with a common I valve housing 28 of a disktype so-called four way 3 rotary valve in which the disk has threepositions,

to wit: a completely closed position, an "on position for one of thecontainers while draining the other, and an on position for the othercontainer while draining off the first container,

this valve being of well known construction, and

therefore, not shown in detail, said valve having a stem 29 to which theforked end 30 of a crank arm 3| is clamped by a screw 32. The hydraulic.fiuid from a suitable source of pressure supply is carried to the valveby a pipe 93, and the waste liquid is released through the pipe 34connected to the housing 28.

The cover structure is quite heavy, and in order that it may be easilylifted and swung from side to side over one container or the other it iscounbearing housing 40 .On theframe .portion H. A

sheaves 48 and 41 on each side hollow counterweight 42 surrounds theupper straight portion of the standard 35 and is connected by metalstraps 42 to a mounted on said standard and looped cable 45, whose runsto the end of a pass over guide whereby the cable hangs down from thetop of the standard or derrick mast 35 as a loop in which a pulley 48 ismounted, said pulley being connected with the cover H by a post 49anchored yoke 44 slidably lever Si in a horizontal plane the standard 85may of the standard to the cover and having thepulley block memher Itsecured to its upper end. The counterweight 42 is suspended by the cable45, so that it is free to move up and down relative to the standard 35.The actual raising and lowering of the cover is accomplished by theoperator through a lever Bl pivoted to the standard at one end 52 andhaving a handle 52 projecting out to a position in front of the twocontainers 8, this lever having a lost motion connection with the post'49 by provision of elongated slots l4 in said lever in which the pin 55on the post works. Y

For locking the cover I! in operative position over the top 01' eithercontainer I provide a locking ring 58 of generally channel shaped formto provide a continuous stop flange 51 at its upper edge for abuttingengagement with the ring 8 and to provide a series of small flanges orlugs 58' at its lower edge adapted to cooperate with a series of fixedlocking lugs'is formed on the outer side or the rim 8 of each container;The spacing of the locking lugs 88 of the ring 58 is such that in oneposition of'the ring these lugs are free to pass between the fixed lugs59 of the container and then by a rotation of the ring 88 relative tothe container the lugs 58 thereon are brought into registering positionbeneath the fixed lugs 59, so that when pressure is put on the cover l1during the extraction process tending' to move the cover away from thecontainer, the ring being in. abutting engagement with the cover and inabutting engagement with the lugs 59 will prevent the release of thecover though a certain amount of vertical movement of the cover relativeto the container is permitted and preferred, and this opens up a gapbetween the cover and the upper end of the container which allows wastewater in addition to waste water passing through the space 22 to \passbetween the cover and the container and be deflected by the sides 01'the ringinto the drain chamber 28 from which it is free to pass into thedrain 21. The ring is turned to locking or unlocked position by means ofa handle 80 mounted thereon, and the two extreme positions 0! the ringare determined by the fixed stops GI and 62 on the cover. With thehandle 40 in the position shown in Fig. 3 and the cover lowered as shownin Fig. 1, the locking ring 66 is in a locked position, and under theseconditions hydraulic fluid may be introduced through its pipe H into thespace between the container and' the bag I2 thus forcing the bag l2,previously charged with wet clothes, upwardly toward the cover, so thatthe water in the clothes will be squeezed out of them and flow throughthe openings 2! into the space between the part I! and the cover I! andthence downwardly past the ring -58 into the chamber 28.

, After this water extracting operation is finished and the water hasbeen released or allowed to drain from the space between the bag l2 andthe container 8, the operator turns the ring 58 to an unlocked positionand then lifts the cover structure upwardly by the upward swinging berotated to bring the cover into position over the other container Iwhose bag structure has been charged during the time the charge in thefirst container was undergoing its extracting operation, and the leverII is then swung downwardly to a cover closing position so as toposition the cover I! over the other container and permit its lockingthereto by the movement of the ring 56 to its locked position to permitthe extracting operation to be carried out in this second container.Thus the same cover and its locking and control mechanism can be usedfor tainer is being a plurality of containers without interfering withthe operation of either since the uncovered coneither emptied or chargedwhile the extraction operation is going on in the covered container, butif with two containers and one cover mechanism the operator shouldaccidentally turn on the hydraulic pressure fluid to the uncoveredcontainer, it might cause the bag to be emptied of its charge and alsoinjury to the bag which is an expensive item in the equipment. In orderto prevent such a thing happening, means have been provided actingautomatically or incidentally to the operation of the cover to preventopening of the pressure supply to that container which is uncovered.

This means includes a valve lever lock for each container to preventmovement of the rotary valve to an "on" position, and which lock isreleased or rendered inefi'ective by the bringing of the cover to alocked position over the charged container. The valve locking meansincludes in each instance a blocking lever 83 pivotally mountedintermediate its ends on the valve housing 28 and connected by a pin andslot connection 64 with an arm 8!! vertically adjustably mounted on avertically reciprocatory red 88 which is guided in a tubular guide 81and is normally urged upwardly to a valve lever blocking position by aspring 88 interposed between the upper end of said guide and a shoulderon said rod, the upward movement of said rod being limited by theengagement of a stop shoulder 89 on the rod with the lower end of theguide 61. With the rod 66 in its upper position the lever 82 is in itsblockin position which brings its outer end into the path of aprojection H on the valve turning lever at, so that the valve cannot beturned in the direction of the lowered lever 02 until that lever israised out of the way, and this raising of the lever takes placeautomatically through the action of the movement of the cover lockingring 56 t a locked position since the locking ring carries the cam Hwhich as the ring is turned to a locked position acts to depress therod66 against the opposition of the spring 68 and through the connection84 moves the locking member 63 out of the path of the valve controllever. This operation takes place with the cover over either container,so that a single cam 1| sufiices for acting on either of the rods 88.Thus in anapparatus using two containers and one cover the operator canonly operate the hydraulic, pressure controlling valve in such asequence as not to cause damioraminous inner What I claim as myinvention is:

1. In a device of the class describedthe combination of a containerhaving an open end and a drain chamber below said end, a flexible bagclamped at its open end container and extending within the same, meansfor admitting pressure fluid between said container and bag, a removablecover for said container having a waste liquid receiving space extendingto the periphery thereof on all sides, said waste liquid receiving spacebeing in addition to any space for the escape of waste liquid betweensaid container and the adjacent edge of the cover and a locking ringcarried by the cover and rotatable relative thereto and forming adeflector to 'direct the waste liquid from said cover space downwardlyinto said drain chamber when fluid pressure acts on said bag;

2. In a device of the character described, the combination of acontainer having an open end and a drain chamber below said end, aflexible bag clamped at its open end to the open end of said containerand extending within the same, means for admitting pressure fluidbetween said container and ba a removable cover for said containerhaving a solid top. portion and a lining spaced from said top portion toform a waste liquid receiving space, said space extending to the outeredge of the entire peripheryof the cover and being in addition to anyspace for the escape of waste liquid between said container and theadjacent edge of the cover and a locking ring carried by the cover andexdownwardly into said drain in a closed position waste liquid to theopen end of saidfrom said space downwardly into said drain chamber whenfluid pressure acts on said bag, said container and ring havingcooperative lugs to interlock with each other when the cover is in aclosed position.

3. In an apparatus of the character described,

the combination of a plurality of like containers having open ends and.arranged in spaced relation, a flexible bag clamped to the open end ofeach container and extending within the .same,

- means for admitting pressure fluid between each container and its bagincluding a common supply and drain pipe and a valve controlling thepassage of fluid to either container respectively, a removable cover forall of said containers, rotatable means carried by the cover for lockingsaid cover to any one of said containers, and means including a cam onsaid locking means for preventing the operation of said valve to supplypressure fluid except only to the container then closed by said cover.

4. In a deviceof the class described, the combination of a frame havinga tub portion provided tending over the outlet from said waste liquid Iwith a drain, a plurality of containers mounted on said Irame andextending up into said tub portion, each of said containers having anopen end, a flexible bag clamped at its open end to the open end of eachcontainer and extending within the same, means for admitting pressurefluid between a container and its bag, a removable cover for said contaers having a waste liquid receiving space through which waste liquid mayflow to said tub portion from laundry disposed in one of said bags whenit is pressed outwardly toward said cover by pressure fluid, and meansfor locking said cover to either of said containers.

THOMAS S. WATSON.

